Tom Hoegemeyer grew up on a small seed farm in rural Nebraska. He earned a B.S. in Ag Honors at the University of Nebraska in 1970, and a Ph.D in Plant Breeding at Iowa State University in 1974. Tom breeds corn and also served as CEO of the family business for 35 years, then worked with Syngenta for about 4 years. He finished his career as a Professor of Practice in the Agronomy and Horticulture Department at UN-L from 2008 to 2015, teaching plant breeding and associated courses, and is now retired and living in Lincoln, NE.